#splash free

ok ok hear me out:

❤︎ haruka - xiao

❤︎ makoto - kazuha

❤︎ rin - wanderer

❤︎ nagisa - venti

statistically speaking, i’m yours

rei x reader

tw: none !!

˙⋆✮ ˙⋆✮ ˙⋆✮ ˙⋆✮ ˙⋆✮ ˙⋆✮ ˙⋆✮ ˙⋆✮ ˙⋆✮ ˙⋆✮

rei ryugazaki is the kind of guy who makes you nervous while handling your math homework. not because he’s judging—but, let’s be real, he totally is—but because he might actually cry when seeing how you’ve solved for x.

“you can’t just guess based on how numbers feel,” he’d sigh for the twentieth time this week.

you squint down at your notes, “but 7 felt right.”

rei set his pencil down and inhaled like it physically pained him to do so. “we are dealing with algebraic equations. not mood boards!”

it’s the second week of tutoring, and you can only pretend to understand like 57% of what he’s said. but, only because you like seeing him flustered. you can learn, you just.. choose not to. his rants come with those cute little hand gestures and that small furrow in his brows—and okay, maybe you’re a bit in love with him. or a lot. but who’s quantifying that? (rei would).

he’s strangely handsome in the “i read dictionaries for fun” kind of way. always tidy, always precise, and always shows up to your tutoring sessions 10 minutes early holding color-coded flash cards.

you rest your chin in your hand, “so you’re saying guessing is not the way to go?”

“absolutely not.”

“hm. weird.”

“what?! why?”

“because it got me a 64 on my last test.”

rei’s eye visibly twitches. “fine. we’re making a deal.”

you raise an eyebrow. “a deal?”

“you want to pass this class. i want.. assistance in a different department.”

“are you blackmailing me?”

“ah, no-! i.. i want you to teach me how to flirt.”

you pause. “sorry,” you say slowly, “come again..?”

“you seem quite comfortable with casual affection and verbal boldness,” he says, gaze flitting everywhere but your face. “i’m not strong in those areas.”

your brain malfunctions. rei freaking ryugazaki, the guy who calculates the optimum angle at which to close a damn binder. he wants you to teach him how to flirt??

“who’s the unlucky target?” you tease, trying not to sound heartbroken.

he hesitates, “that’s.. irrelevant to the deal.”

ouch?

you smile. “alright, professor ryugazaki. you’ll help me pass math, and i will help you with.. flirting.”

he nods resolutely and offers his hand. you shake it, trying not to notice how warm it is.

the next tutoring session, the flirting lessons begin.

“now,” you say, “you have to learn how to give compliments.”

“i do! i complimented you last week, didn’t i?”

“you said my handwriting is ‘surprisingly charming’. what the hell does that even mean?”

“i-“ he sighs, “okay, i get it. what should i do?”

“well, you could tell them they looked good today.” you tilt your head, “or, like.. their laugh is cute.”

he goes red. “that is.. incredibly vulnerable.”

“ha! that’s the point, isn’t it?” you snicker, leaning back in your chair. “trust me—they’ll like it.”

he nods that solemn nod he always does and scribbles in his notebook.

REMEMBER: compliments must be emotionally specific.

you sigh, “you’re writing notes?”

“i always write notes!”

“you’e lucky i find you cute.” oops. you didn’t mean to let that one slip.

he freezes, and you cough awkwardly. “..in a hypothetical way,” you add a little too quickly.

he just pushes his glasses up with two fingers. “understood.” you don’t miss the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, though.

over the next few “lessons”.. he seems to be making no progress.

“eye contact,” you nod, “hold their gaze.. then say something nice. try it.”

rei shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “you have.. nice posture?”

you huff out a laugh. “that’s the best you’ve got?”

“i-i don’t want to be inappropriate!”

“you’re not hitting on a teacher, ryugazaki. just.. pretend i’m them, then.”

he swallows, “..them?”

“yeah. that person you’re doing all this for? your.. crush?”

his ears go red. “i..”

this person is starting to feel more like a knife stabbing right through your chest. whoever they are, you envy them. you’ve spent weeks savoring those soft, rare moments when he smiles at you, or how his voice changes when he’s focused on tutoring you. ..but it’s not for you. you’re just the student in this dynamic. not the end goal.

it’s after your third test—one you’ve miraculously passed, things shift.

“ryugazaki!” you meet rei outside the library, waving your paper triumphantly with the biggest grin. “82%! i’m officially smarter than a baked potato.”

rei stares at you, then grins, and for the first time ever, he hugs you.

it’s brief. it was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. you feel his warmth and cologne pressed against you just for a split second, but it was enough to send you spiraling.

when he pulls back, he looks just about as shocked as you.

“i—apologies. that was.. impulsive.”

“no!” you say a little too quickly. “i.. didn’t mind.”

you’re both quiet for a beat before you softly add: “if it makes you feel any better, that was a good example of physical affection.”

he smiles, “noted.”

after that, the line between tutoring and something else has blurred.

he brings you snacks every now and then. you’d ‘accidentally’ bump knees under the table. you find excuses to compliment him now. real ones, not just for practice. and he’ll start smiling at them.

still, though, he hasn’t asked this mystery person out. you wonder why—and selfishly hope he doesn’t.

it happens on a rainy tuesday.

the sky is grey, and the soft patter of raindrops tap against the library window like a background noise for your tutoring session. you’re curled up across from rei, mindlessly doodling on your notebook as he goes on and on about the steps on how to solve an equation. or something else, you don’t know.

but he’s not really paying attention either. he’s tapping his pencil in that perfect rhythm he always does when he’s nervous.

“you okay?” you glance up at him.

rei jolts slightly, startled, eyes flicking to you like he forgot you were there. “oh, i—yes. apologies. i was.. distracted.”

you raise an eyebrow. “by math? or something else?”

he opens his mouth like he’s about to say something, then closes it, adjusting his glasses. “well, we have been doing this for.. quite a while now.”

“flirting lessons?”

“and tutoring.”

“right,” you force a small, tight smile. “almost forgot which was which.”

that makes him smile too, but there’s something sad about it. like he’s holding something back. like he’s about to say something important, but thinks better of it.

you decide to break the silence first. “y’know.. you’ve never told me about the progress you’ve made. with them.”

that makes him freeze.

“i’m assuming you’re waiting for the right time to ask them out, right?”

rei’s looking everywhere but you now. “yes, i.. correct.”

“figured. i hope they’re.. good for you.”

“they are.” he answers, almost immediately.

“they better be,” you say, trying to sound lighthearted. “they’ve got you practically writing poetry in your math notes.”

he chuckles, but it seems forced.

“you should tell them,” you add, “whoever they are. you’re kind, smart, and.. statistically speaking, anyone would be lucky.” you expect a thank-you. maybe another smile.

but you’re met with silence. “..ryugazaki?”

his eyes finally meet yours, “i haven’t told them.”

“why not?”

his lips part, “because i wasn’t sure how they felt.”

you’re about to retort a response, but seeing the way he’s looking at you—eyes wide and desperate, stops you. and then it clicks.

“ryugazaki..”

“i—i thought that if i said it directly, it would change everything.” he explains quietly, “i thought you would have pulled away. so i.. disguised it. pretending i needed help with something i only ever wanted to practice with.. you.”

you swallow. hard.

“and i tried convincing myself that these lessons were enough. just having you near me.”

you lean back in your seat, “you should’ve said something, ryugazaki.. i was sure you liked someone else.”

“i do. you.”

your breath catches at his words, “so all this time..”

“..it’s been you.” he finishes.

and you, having spent weeks bottling up all your feelings just to be a good friend, feel something blooming in your chest so warm it burns.

you manage a shaky laugh. “you idiot.”

“what?” he gapes.

“you could’ve kissed me three quizzes ago.”

his face burns. “i—that’s not-!”

you cut him off by launching yourself across the table, arms wrapping around his neck awkwardly. your knees bang against the table, his pencil case goes flying, but he catches you on instinct. like he’s been waiting for this moment.

you don’t kiss him right away. you just sit there, holding him close, listening to the sound of his heartbeat quickening with every second.

and then you kiss him.

it’s not perfect, but it’s more than you could ever ask for. his nose bumps yours, glasses askew, and he exhales a tiny gasp like he just can’t believe this is real. but it is. and it’s happening.

later, when you’re trying to get your legs to work again, rei scribbles something at the top of his notebook.

statistically speaking.. my favorite variable was always U.

you scoff, “is that your way of saying we’re done with tutoring?”

he leans in, lips brushing your temple. “no,” he says quietly, “i just need a new subject.”

does the free! fandom still exist ?? i haven’t seen many works related to it lol